Seaside Heights Woman Receives NASA Grant For Georgian Court Research

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ — A Seaside Heights woman has been awarded a grant from NASA for her research project at Georgian Court University.

Aya Abdo, who is a sophomore majoring in biology, conducted a research project monitoring the daily habits of her study participants and how it affects their heart rate on their EKG test results.

She was among several Georgian Court students who were awarded NASA NJ Space Grants for undergraduate research for the 2022-2023 academic school year. Each student received a $2,000 stipend from NASA for space-related research projects, guided by a faculty member in their respective fields which span across the sciences, including the social sciences. The research projects are conducted on-site at Georgian Court.

Abdo's research project is titled "The Impact of Mental Health on Autonomic Nervous System Activity," which she has conducted under the guidance of Dr. Chinenye C. Anako, M.D., M.P.H, lecturer and coordinator of Anatomy and Physiology at Georgian Court.

"I’ve always been interested in the nervous system, and I love doing cardio," she said. "I was very excited when I found out we were going to be conducting EKGs on students to see how their daily lives affect the inner workings of their bodies."

From the data she collected, Abdo drew conclusions about how participants can make changes to their lifestyle in order to improve their autonomic nervous systems.

The research will serve as a baseline for people in any job, including those employed at NASA, where it will be particularly useful since EKGs can be monitored remotely.